Matheus Cunha: Wolves forward charged with misconduct by FA following incident after full-time whistle against Ipswich

16 December 2024, 12:27 | Updated: 17 December 2024, 16:40

Wolves striker Matheus Cunha has been charged with misconduct by the FA following an incident after the full-time whistle against Ipswich.

Jack Taylor scored with the last attack of Saturday's game to hand Ipswich a huge win over their relegation rivals.

Cunha was involved in an altercation with an Ipswich member of staff after the game and the FA have charged the forward for acting "in an improper manner". He has until Thursday December 19 to provide a response.

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The 25-year-old has been Wolves' best player this season, scoring eight goals and producing three assists in the Premier League.

Wolves have won only two of their 16 matches and are second from bottom, five points adrift of safety.

Cunha's team-mate Rayan Ait-Nouri, who was shown a second yellow card after the whistle, also had to be dragged down the tunnel after clashing with Ipswich's Wes Burns.

The match proved to be Gary O'Neil's last game in charge, with Wolves announcing his departure early on Sunday morning.

Speaking about the incident involving Ait-Nouri, O'Neil said: "I haven't seen it. I have just been told he received a second yellow. I spoke to him during the game.

"We are under a lot of pressure. We are trying to push the group beyond our level and you can't get yourself in trouble. We are stretched as it is. We need Rayan and now we don't have him. I will deal with that internally."

The ugly incidents came only five days after Wolves midfielder Mario Lemina was stripped of the captaincy following a post-match altercation with West Ham's Jarrod Bowen. Lemina was dragged away after shoving two team-mates and first-team coach Shaun Derry.

Wolves' indiscipline this season also saw goalkeeper Jose Sa climb into the North Bank at Molineux to argue with fans at half-time of the 4-2 defeat to Bournemouth last month.

Ait-Nouri was already set to be suspended for Saturday's game at Leicester after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season in the first half of the defeat to Ipswich.

But he will now miss that game because of his red card and still return on four bookings - one more yellow card away from another ban.

Analysis: Cunha ban would be big blow for Wolves

Matheus Cunha has been the shining light for Wolves this season so it is almost impossible to overstate how damaging any extended absence could be to the club's hopes of Premier League survival. His eight goals tell only part of the tale.

It was Cunha's dramatic late equaliser at Brighton that ended a run of five straight defeats. It was Cunha's long-distance striker that secured their first win of the campaign against Southampton, having already provided the assist for the game's opening goal.

And it was Cunha's two glorious goals away to Fulham that helped Wolves to what remains their only other Premier League win this season. His team have had problems at the other end of the pitch but are actually the eighth highest scorers thanks to Cunha.

Gary O'Neil liked to talk of the tactical work that went into making Cunha a better player but the truth is that the Brazilian remains an off-the-cuff performer, a maverick capable of moments of magic that come from his own imagination not the training ground.

"I am Brazilian and a very emotional guy," he told Sky Sports in the summer. Now, that emotion has got the better of him and threatens to keep him out of some key matches for his club. Wolves struggled with Cunha. Without him, their task looks more daunting.

There are options for new boss Vitor Pereira. Goncalo Guedes has hinted at the ability to have a bigger role, while Hee-Chan Hwang is still hoping to rediscover his form of last season. But there is nobody capable of what Cunha is capable of. At Wolves or beyond.
Adam Bate